title: Safety of short-term valacyclovir as an anti-sickling agent in sickle-cell anemia.
abstract: To assess safety and tolerability, we administered valacyclovir, an oral anti-viral medication that inhibits erythrocyte sickling in vitro, to 14 subjects with sickle-cell anemia for 1 week at a standard dose of 1,000 mg every 8 hr. No clinically significant adverse effects occurred. In 11 subjects in steady state, the mean hemoglobin concentration was almost constant while the absolute reticulocyte count decreased in eight (P = 0.1) and the overall mean fell slightly although not significantly (10%, P = 0.2). These results suggest that valacyclovir is safe and well tolerated in patients with sickle-cell anemia and that a longer duration of therapy merits investigation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Hematology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York, USA. ke2144@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Katherine L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Ender
authors.forename: Robert H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: DeBellis
authors.forename: Bernard F
authors.initials: BF
authors.lastname: Erlanger
authors.forename: Genia B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Billote
authors.forename: Gary M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Brittenham
mesh_terms: D000212:Acyclovir / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000755:Anemia, Sickle Cell / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000986:Antisickling Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004913:Erythrocytes, Abnormal / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020714:Maximum Tolerated Dose; D011355:Prodrugs; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012449:Safety; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D000077483:Valacyclovir; D014633:Valine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000986:Antisickling Agents; D000998:Antiviral Agents; D006454:Hemoglobins; D011355:Prodrugs; D014633:Valine; D000077483:Valacyclovir; D000212:Acyclovir